HRD-85-64: Published: Jun 7, 1985. Publicly Released: Jul 16, 1985.

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In response to a congressional request, GAO reported on a number of issues concerning a proposed Veterans Administration (VA) project to either modernize its medical center in Allen Park, Michigan, or build a new medical center in downtown Detroit, Michigan.

GAO found that: (1) VA generally followed its established procedures and used reasonable judgment in developing the initial construction designs and cost estimates for the four design concepts it has under consideration; (2) the land on which the Allen Park center is located will revert back to the grantor if it is not used for a VA facility; (3) VA has not prepared an estimate of the cost to acquire the property and prepare for the construction of a medical center at the planned Detroit site; (4) VA routinely gathers demographic data on the veterans treated at each of its medical centers; (5) VA officials believe that enough nurses and volunteers will be available if the medical center is relocated in Detroit; (6) distance does not appear to be a constraint for the volunteers serving the Allen Park facility and VA should be able to recruit volunteers in the Detroit area; (7) the Allen Park facility has only two formal sharing agreements with other medical facilities, and VA planning presumes that a facility relocated in Detroit would have opportunities for similar sharing and contracting; (8) having the hospital located near affiliated medical schools will foster information exchange between the hospital and the schools; (9) if the medical center is relocated to Detroit, adequate parking accommodations must be provided and a multilevel parking deck is planned; and (10) VA has extended its contract to update and revise its draft environmental impact statement.